Description: During this four week session of the Foundations 101 series we’ll explore some fundamentals about God’s written Word—the Bible. Topics of discussion will range from the Bible’s central theme to inspiration/inerrancy to everyday practical tools for reading and studying God’s primary means of revealing Himself to us.

Information and discussions are intended to be practical, down-to-earth, and targeted toward helping us more fully understand and appreciate the importance and relevance of God’s Word. Our goal is to finish this five week session motivated to let the Bible consistently impact our everyday lives.

Much of the information for this session will be taken from the Foundations series text, A Handbook of the Christian Faith, by John Schwarz, available at the Timberline Book Store. While not required, we highly encourage you pick up this book, as it will be useful for all four classes in the Foundations 101 series.

Part 1 Learning the purpose, structure, formation and books of the Bible.
• Who wrote it and why?
• How does it all fit together?
• What are the major parts and structure?

Part 2 How did the Bible get from God to us?
• Transmission
• Inspiration
• Inerrancy/Infallibility
• Revelation and Authority

Part 3 Reading the Bible for all its worth, Pt. 1
• Choosing a good translations
• Tools & tips for studying
• Rules of the road—basics of interpretation
• Is it all to be taken literally?
• Where do I start?

Part 4 Helpful tools and practical exercises
• Good resources
• Don’t spend a fortune on study books
• Start out slow and gain momentum
• Do we really have to talk about memorization?